Recognizing barbeque as America’s cuisine, the mission of the Kansas City Barbeque Society is to celebrate, teach, preserve and promote barbeque as a culinary technique, sport and art form.

I accept my duties as a KCBS director to further the KCBS mission so that truth, justice, excellence in barbeque and the American way of life may be strengthened and preserved forever.

Minutes of Last Meeting

Sandy Fulton:

I move to accept the minutes of the June 14, 2017 Board of Directors Meeting. Second Wayne Lohman. Motion Passed.

I move to accept minutes of the June 28, 2017 Special Meeting of the Board of Directors. Randall Bowman second. Motion Passed.

Financial Statements

Randall Bowman: The financial statements for KCBS for the month of June 2017 were sent via email to the Board. The Committee moves that they be approved as presented and entered into the permanent record of the Kansas City BBQ Society. Respectfully Submitted,

Sandy thanked the Video Committee for all of their hard work but advised them that it did not pass Board approval last night. The reason being cost. They felt that at this time we could not afford any additional expenses. With the new offices there are additional expenses and without having the two office facilities rented we need to be frugal.

Sandy reported to the Cul de Sac Committee, that she has not heard anything from Michael McDearman on this Committee he wanted to form. Will ask him at next Board Meeting.

Debbie Yopp was not able to be at the meeting, so we will discuss her BBQ Ambassadors and Welcome Notebook at the July meeting.

The Committee has a concern over the low percentage of KCBS members from Organizers. They have made several suggestions to increase that number. Sandy has forward the list to Mike Peters, Chair of the Membership Committee and asked that his committee review the suggestions.

There was conversation last night regarding the number of events being sanctioned this year than last and also it was brought up that more events have cancelled this year than last. Also a concern from a Board member regarding the Fri/Sat and Sat/Sun events. I asked Kim to please check her records and report to the committee her findings for this year compared to last year.

Her report is as follows. These stats are as of June 20, 2017

Last year we sanctioned 555 contests, 50 of these cancelled and 6 of them came back this year.

Current year we have sanctioned 559 contests and 34 have cancelled.

We have an increase in Backyard (31) in 2017 and 24 in 2016.

We have an increase in Competitors Series (25) in 2017 and 17 in 2016.

We also have had an increase in Back to Back events:

Sat/Sunday events are good due to the fact that they let the teams cook that cannot afford to take Friday off from work.

Some events work together if they are close by, example a Sat/Sun event is adding an extra $500.00 to his event to be paid to a team that cooks his Sat/Sunday event if they come from the event that is happening Friday/ Sat. The money will go to the team that has the highest cumulative score of both events

Another good example of two events on the weekend are that one Fri/Sat event had 10 of the 34 teams that went to the Sat/Sun event because this event was a Sat/Sunday event it also had 5 new local teams that never cooked in a bbq competition .

An explanation of the Assumption Illinois event and Minonk Illinois event is as follows:

Assumption IL was originally scheduled for June 23&24. Angie changed her date in March to 30&1. Minonk IL was already approved and sanction in Feb. for July 1&2. Angie said she needed to move her date to the fairgrounds that she had a scheduling conflict. At the time I informed her that there was a Sat/Sun event 125 miles away so, she was aware of Minonk IL

As for the Sat/Sun Oklahoma event that was canceled, Kim informed the Organizer at the time that she would suggest that he takes a full year to plan and organize his event that OK teams have their schedule already made out. That it would be tough to get the teams since he was right at the 90 days. That he might get some local teams that do not travel and cannot afford to take Friday off. I even suggested that he do a Backyard event that there are a lot of BY teams in Ok. He wanted a master series and he was hiring Arlie to make it happen. He did end up cancelling his event until next year. Several of the Ok teams drove right by the Chandler Ok ($6,600 prize money) contest on to Artesia NM Back to back contest 15k prize money each day.

I hope Kim’s response to the concerns at the Board Meeting help with the questions the Board had.

We are aware that Kim receives so many questions and complaints from Organizers. Even though she makes sure they all receive the Organizers Handbook. The Handbook was revised in 2016 by Randy and Carol Bigler. They certainly did an excellent job. The committee feels that an update is needed this year. There are just a few changes that need to be made but more importantly we feel that the Organizers need assistance in planning their event more than what the Organizers Guide can give them currently. We are fortunate to have six Organizers on the Sanctioning Committee. We have agreed to have each Organizer commit to giving personal recommendations on sponsorships, advertising, budget, revenue generating etc. to help new Organizers. They will give actual examples of what they have done to make their events successful. We feel that this will be of great help to the Organizers. Our hopes are that the new Guide will be ready by September-October. It will also help Kim with the questions she is continually being asked. She does an excellent job helping the Organizers and trying to maximize the events that we do have.

No further business, meeting adjourned.

Asked if any update on the Cul de Sac Adhoc Committee that he was working on, we have three members of the Sanctioning Committee that have offered to serve on his committee. Michael said that they were not going to continue with this committee. After speaking with Arlie Bragg and Mike Hays it would fall under the Competitor Series.

Great event at the National Pro BBQ Tour Region 1 Championship on July 1

PR & Social Media - YOY Comparison

KCBS: (June)

Twitter Followers: 14,010 (+18.72%)

Twitter Impressions: 75,302 (+117.64%)

Facebook Page Likes: 53,327 (+23.05%)

Facebook Impressions: 547,757 (+49%)

Merchandise

Total: $160.55

50% to KCBS $80.27

50% to MMA $80.28

Miscellaneous

National Pro BBQ Tour update: Mike

Continuing promotion for Famous Dave’s partnership

Marketing Committee: Randall Bowman, Chair

No report this month.

International Board of Managers Report- Wayne Lohman

July 2017 International Board of Managers Report

Our four day trip to Tallya, Hungary produced 40 new competition teams and 42 CBJ's to bring our total KCBS International Membership to over 1500, located in 31 countries. Our organizers in Hungary included the KCBS membership fee in the cooking class cost to increase their country membership totals. Thus far, 28 teams have signed up for the October contest which is another indication of how well the organizers are doing with new bbq events for both teams and judges. One of the highlights of the weekend was the discussion of how we pair local wines from the Tallya Region with BBQ as an ancillary event at the October Contest. We also had contest discussions with an organizer from Romania which would be a first time event for that country.

The following week brought part of the IOTeam to Camargue, France for our second year sanctioned contest. 15 Pro Teams from 8 different countries traveled to this beautiful seaside location in Southern France which is close to Cannes. This KCBS International Contest is coupled with a Weber Grilling event that totals close to 70 teams competing in both contests. The Pro Teams in the barbecue contest increased by 50% which means that the event will probably move to a different location in 2018 to accommodate our growth.

Our organizer is faced with the same question of how to attract more teams and judges to a remote barbecue location in Southern France that is known as a beach tourist resort. However, the French Smokers Association now has close to 500 members from which we will solicit new KCBS membership. Our continued challenge in Europe is to grow our contest base to satisfy our judging membership. Presently we see a potential of 2 new contests in France for 2018.

Our major emphasis for growth in Europe is to attract sponsorship for the local contest organizer as mentioned in the June report. Work continues on putting together a contest presentation so that potential sponsors can understand the process and the benefits they could derive from their investment in a contest. We are also giving some thought to learn if equipment manufacturers such as Ole Hickory, Primo or Weber would consider a finance option for their cooking equipment through their local distributors. Market penetration for these three companies is impressive.

Activity continues at a slow pace for Central & South America. Discussions for Panama and Brazil are still on-going for multiple contest locations in both countries with local organizers. Weber continues to be a major source of new contest activities for that area through their distribution network. We are working on a meeting date in Chicago with their International Marketing Director to expand our international activities to achieve both our individual goals. This individual, and Weber, are the reason for our growth and success in Europe.

Chairman, Dennis Polson, called the meeting to order and reported that the Sub-Committee has finished the Master CBJ test questions and are in the process of being changed on the test. Mike Hays reported that Karrin Murphy will be set up to change out questions in the office as needed, providing the total question limit is not exceeded. Phillip will send an E-mail to Reps when it is changed over so they can announce the revised test at contests. Dennis thanked the committee for their work.

The personal drinking container advisory was discussed, as Dennis had a concern from a judge with a medical condition who stated she is required to drink filtered water. Prior to the meeting, Dennis had consulted medical professionals about this situation. Following lengthy discussion, including legal implications, the decision was made Dennis will talk with the judge about having other responsibilities in the judging area.

Dennis reported that there will be an article in an up-coming Bullsheet clarifying the seating procedures (either by pre-assignment or the “Southwest Shuffle.”) and the 3 Step System for judges. Dennis also reviewed the 3 Step System for the committee so committee members can clarify or refer questions to the article. Mike Hays or Dennis will also have Karrin post the information on the KCBS website.

The problem of judges signing up for multiple contests and not notifying the Organizers that they will not be attending (No Show Judges) was discussed at length with no easy solution found. Some committee members feel there should be stiff penalties, as the situation sometimes is critical to the success of a contest. It was agreed that communication between Organizers and Judges is important, as well as communication between Organizers to compare notes regarding Judges who have a pattern of not showing up at contests.

Dennis asked for other concerns to be addressed; as none were voiced, the meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm. Next meeting will be July 31th at 7 pm CDT.

The meeting’s agenda was to address some items that had been sent to the Committee from the Rules Committee.

The first item:

Ask the Reps to request the Table Captains to help them review comment cards (CC) and to point out to the Reps possible inappropriate CC. The Reps must still be solely responsible for removing inappropriate CC.

During discussion, it was found that a majority of the Reps DO, already, utilize the Table Captains to help point out inappropriate Comment Cards, However, an email will be sent to ALL Reps making this suggestion.

It was, also, determined, in committee, that in this email Reps will be advised that they are to start, immediately, to CULL any and all CC's that are not properly filled out or the comment on the card is something that is inappropriate to give to the team or suggests the judge does not understand the judging system. These culled cards will be sent to the KCBS office where they will be used in determining if the new "3 Step Program" needs to be initiated. EXAMPLES: "no burnt ends", "worst of the entries", "looked like a pile of Alpo", just to name a few.

The second item:

Request the Reps place even more emphasis (than they are currently) on making sure the judges, judge only what is in the box not what they believe should be in the box.

The committee determined that this should, also, be included in the email for Reps that they should state this at EVERY judge's meeting.

The third item:

Establish a timeframe for turn in boxes to be distributed to teams. Some reps do not distribute until the cook’s meeting. The boxes are not currently consistent from rep to Rep. This would also reduce length of the cook’s meeting at the comps where they are distributed.

The committee would also like to know when Reps should be on site at a comp.

After MUCH discussion, it was determined that it would be very hard to put a set time on either of these items as there are too many variables; plane arrivals, car trouble, boxes not being available, etc.

But, we are going to try to come up with a statement that gets the Reps to try to be on site and starting to distribute boxes as close to lunch as possible. Just not sure how it will be worded, yet. Once written, it will be sent to each Rep.

The fact that Reps are Independent Contractors comes into play on an issue like this, so we have to be careful.

Chair Phillip Brazier stated to the committee that he would communicate all the above to the Rules Committee for their review.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM Central with the next Committee meeting being scheduled for Tuesday July 25th at 7:00 PM.

BUILDING COMMITTEE: Arlie Bragg, Chair

We do have a proposal on the table for the upper floor and a conference call will happen this coming week. This is great news and we look forward to working with the new client. (Whiting-Turner Contracting Company)

The other building has been cleaned out and in the process of getting an appraisal. We also have been told the neighbor next door is interested in buying the building.

We still need to look at the maintenance of the building.

Tech Committee- Mike Peters – Chair

The committee met on June 21.

Discussion on website committee - shared information about current hardware and software. Committee members with strong IT background will review and make suggestions.

Discussion on relational database - invited Mark Kenney to speak about what his business does and how it might benefit KCBS. Mark is a KCBS member and cook team.

Discussed using KCBScore data to seat judges.

KCBScore is currently at version 12.6.1 with 12.6.7 in test mode. 12.6.7 will allow reps to set up ancillary events at home, allow champion reports to be generated and fix windows 10 zoom issue.

Still in process to add phone number field to KCBScore to assist in tracking non-KCBS member cook teams.

Still in process to add cook team detail to KCBS website like judge scorecard.

Discussed having a judge’s critique sheet and move all surveys to one system - Cook, Rep, Organizer.

Committee members decided that they will publish in the November issue the request for questions to the Board Committee Chairs at the Banquet in January. The Board members will be receiving these questions prior to the Banquet so they may review and prepare for their responses.

No update on Players Cards from the Casino.

Raye and Barbara are working on the layout for the Vendors. Any Board members have suggestions please let Barbara Richter know. The cost is $500. The exhibitor’s hours are Friday from 10-5 and Saturday from 9-5.

Kim is currently working on having tours. Tours will be to the new KCBS office and either a winery or craft beer brewery. She will have details on them at the next meeting and approximate cost.

Raye is working on the RFP for 2019 and beyond for the Banquet. Sandy will forward to Board when she receives them.

Goody Bags – Work in progress.

The Legacy session with Carolyn is a go. She will ask others to participate and will let us know who they will be.

Barbara has been working on schedule and has a preliminary plan. She will have more info to share at the next meeting. At that time it will be shared with the Board Members who will be doing sessions at the Banquet. After critiquing last year’s format we will be making some changes.

Sandy expressed her concern over the number of Organizers who contribute free space at their competitions for the raffle at the Banquet. We want to try to increase this number this year. We will be posting on the Facebook Organizers Page and Karrin will be placing the information in the Bullsheet. We are hoping this will help. We will also be listing the Organizers and the Competitions that are participating in the raffle in the Bullsheet and the Organizers Facebook Page.

Menu tasting will be done in October at the Hotel. Bill Capstack will head that subcommittee and report back to us.

Karrin will place the Save the Date notice of the Banquet in the August Bullsheet.

The Argosy does not have a concierge floor.

Barbara will report to committee on the AV when she has all of the requests from the committee chairs and the Banquet needs on Saturday night.

Sandy will contact Board members to find out their arrival date and departure date so Barbara can make their reservations.

Hotel RFP’s for host hotels for the January Banquet for the next couple of years have been sent to the Board members for review.

Meeting adjourned.

Membership Committee – Mike Peters, Chair

Membership Committee Report

Active Members 20841

New Members 424

New from CBJ Class 141

Renewed Members 1138

Non Renewed 827

New from Website 211

Total Lifetime Members 1379

International Members 1473

Countries Represented 31

Members “auto”renewed 387

The committee met on Thursday, July 6

Discussed the Ambassador program - Donna set up a booth at Silicon Valley. Spoke about program in CBJ and Cook meeting. RMBBQA interested in possibly doing next year. Will discuss more in off season and possibly set up at the first event of the year in Denver.

Discussed business memberships - suggest waiting until new website is active to give more ROI to business members. Will include in discussions about website on how to best promote for links and web traffic to business members.

Survey for non-renewals is in process. Jan-Mar 2015 is complete, Apr-June 2015 is in process.

Meeting with Foxfuel to discuss where data requests are at in pipeline.

Donna has designed a certificate to use for recognizing international teams and CBJ’s who participate in domestic contests.

Motion for the BOD - I move that KCBS offers FREE lifetime membership for US Military Purple Heart Recipients upon receiving military form DD214 in recognition of their sacrifice to our United States of America. Mike Richter seconded. Motion passed.

This was discussed and unanimously approved by the committee. Donna will also work with the gentleman who brought this idea to committee for an interview and article for the Bullsheet.

Karrin Murphy will be asked to post this on Facebook and the KCBS web page. Mike Richter, as Rules Committee Chair, will send out responses to the emails from the membership and Facebook comments.

Current rule - Fires shall be of wood, wood pellets or charcoal. Gas and electric heat sources shall not be permitted for cooking or holding. Propane or electric is permitted as fire starters, provided that the competition meat is not in/on the cooking device. Electrical accessories such as spits, augers, or forced draft are permitted. No open pits or holes are permitted, except at the election of the contest organizer. Fires shall not be built on the ground.

Proposed rule - Fires shall be of wood, wood pellets, charcoal or propane/LP gas. Any propane gas tanks must be equipped with an OPD, overfill protection device and a fuel regulator must be installed between the tank and the cooking device. Electric heat sources shall not be permitted for cooking or holding. Electric is permitted as fire starters, provided that the competition meat is not in/on the cooking device. Electrical accessories such as spits, augers, or forced draft are permitted. No open pits or holes are permitted, except at the election of the contest organizer. Fires shall not be built on the ground.

This should be a board decision and not a committee decision. Should the board approve, it should/can go to committee to clean up wording. By allowing LP Gas, this will open up more opportunity for the ancillary categories to have more involvement by true “backyard” teams. This will also open up the opportunity for sponsorship opportunities to both KCBS and organizers. This was discussed in the membership committee and major concern was safety. By requiring safety devices, this should lessen concerns.

Rules Committee: Mike Richter

Rules Committee met June 20th. Inquiries from members were discussed. One inquiry dealt with using lettuce to wrap turn in meats. If the meat is not visible you obviously would receive a disqualification. Additionally even if meat was viewable, it would make it extremely hard to judge the appearance and more than likely result in very low appearance scores. The committee is working on possible proposed changes for pork. These will be included in a survey to the membership. The next meeting is July 18th.

Nominating Committee: Arlie Bragg:

The questions are lined up to go in the Bullsheet as well as online. Karrin is working with Simply Voting to run a test vote regarding changing companies.

No other board members sent in additional questions so we will go with what we have.

Education/Communications Committee:Michael McDearman

No meeting.

The topic of meat glue was brought up before the Board based on the Bullsheet comment and Facebook comments.

As Communication Chair Michael will make the following statement on Facebook and the Web Page:

With further clarification needed of the usage of meat glue the rules committee will be asked to address the topic.

Strategic Planning Committee: Joe Otto

The SPC meeting was rescheduled from July 3 to July 17 away from the 4th of July holiday. No report for July 2017.

Philanthropy Report-Joe Otto

All scholarship applicants received a letter from the KCBS office informing decision scholarship awards.

All charitable grant applicants received a letter from the KCBS office informing decision on charitable grant awards.

Request this report be approved.

Old Business

New Business

Randall Bowman moved and Wayne Lohman second that we go into closed session at 8:51 PM.